In mid-January, we will launch our new homepage for all our customers who have our latest platform. We have mentioned in previous blog posts how we reasoned when we designed the new start page and how we want to continue developing it in the future. In this post we will look at some of the new features available on the page and how to maximize your start page as a user.
The biggest difference at first glance is probably the visual change. One goal for us was to facilitate those who rarely use the system and therefore we have now chosen to work to a greater extent with colors and graphic elements. We hope that this will make it even easier to get started and work in the system. Another of our goals has been to make important information and functionality more accessible than before. We have done this by collecting important processes and important information in so-called widgets. A widget is an application or part of the user interface that allows the user to perform a specific task or access specific information. In this blog post we answer some of the questions we have received regarding our new start page
Have any parts of the system other than the start page changed with this upgrade?
No, only the starting page is upgraded this time. This means that when a user leaves the start page and moves to another part of the system, the user will return to the old design and user interface. We plan to upgrade the system gradually during the year. First out is the event module that we hope to release in the spring and after that we will upgrade the e-mail module.
Where is the quick list that on the old start page was at the bottom left?
We have moved the quick list to the right-hand side instead. A user can expand the quick list by clicking on the three-dot icon in the top right corner. By putting the quick list on the right hand side we can let it take up the entire right-hand surface when it’s unfolded and show many more items than we could do before. If a user wants the quick list permanently expanded he or she could click on the red staple pin and lock the list. The system remembers the choices that the user makes and saves the settings that are made until next time the user logs in
Has something else changed in the left side menu?
No, the left-hand menu works almost exactly as it did before. One thing that’s new is that it’s now possible to collapse the left side menu so only the icons for the different sections are displayed. To do this, click on the “equal sign” next to the search box. By folding the left menu, the actual work area becomes larger and can be a way to make it easier to work in the system if you use a small screen such as a mobile phone.
What widgets are available from start?
As previously mentioned, one of our goals has been to make important information available to the user directly on the start page. Some of the most used features of the Mira systems today are email campaigns and event management. We have therefore created two widgets that help our users work with these. The email widget shows the most recent mail and shows how many has received, opened and clicked on the mail. The event management widget displays the latest created event as well as the number of registered participants and confirmed participants.
We also created a widget that shows the future and overdue activities planned for the logged in user and another widget showing the latest events on Mira’s blog. It’s easy for a user to move around the widgets in order to design their own personal homepage. Through drag-and-drop, a user can move them around the widgets and put them in any order. A user can also collapse the widgets so they hardly take up any place at all on the start page
Are there any more widgets planned?
Yes, we have a couple of new widgets we’re working on right now and ideas for a few more. Next up is a widget that shows specific saved queries For example, you can show people who belong to specific educational programs. We are also working on a widget that shows alumni engagement level for all alumni in the system.
How does the new start page work on mobile devices?
One of our design goals when we created the new start page was that it should work well on mobile devices. First, the entire new start page is built according to responsive design, which makes text and graphic elements adapt to what screen size the user has. Secondly, we also created smart shortcuts to the four most used entities in our systems persons, organizations, events and e-mails. Now, instead navigating down the left side menu to get to a list of all persons in the system a user can click on the persons icon at the top of the start page and go directly to the person list. We have also given these four entities distinctive colors that make it easy to quickly start working in the system even if the user is operating from a small screen.
Below is a short video tutorial to the new start page
If you have any questions, dont hesitate to contact me at johan.johannesson@mira.se